We got feedback on almost every aspect of the “financial aid shopping sheet” prototype, and a majority of those who commented said a standardized way of receiving financial aid information is needed. Participants ranked features they thought were most important, and here were their top choices:

Estimated debt at graduation

Estimated monthly payment after graduation

My likely ability to repay my loans

A complete breakdown of cost at school by category

Whether students at this school have been able to repay loans

We have shared all the comments we received with the Department of Education so they can use this feedback to develop a financial aid form for schools to use.

We’ve also been gathering information on your experiences with private student loans through the Federal Register notice we posted in November. The comment period for that notice closed on January 17, and we have begun analyzing the more than 2,000 comments we received.

We’re always looking for your thoughts on how to ensure students better understand their student loan choices and obligations. Write to us in the comments of this post, Tweet at us , Facebook us , or Tell Your Story if you have something you’d like to share.